Obama agenda: Tough to beat?

It appears Republicans aren’t so confident they can beat Obama now. “Having gone from despondency in 2008 to euphoria last November, a more sober GOP is wincing in the light of day as they consider just how difficult unseating an incumbent president with a massive warchest is going to be, even with a still-dismal economy,” Politico’s Martin writes. Karl Rove calls Obama “a favorite, albeit a slight favorite.” And: “[A]side from the traditional advantages of incumbency, Republicans are also fretting about the strength of Obama’s campaign infrastructure, the potential limitations of their own field and, particularly, the same demographic weaknesses that haunted them in 2008.” Plus, there’s the lackluster GOP field…

All about 2012 fundraising? The Hill: “Obama makes Oscar cameo.” “The president appeared in a montage of man-on-the-street interviews, during which participants were asked to name some of their most memorable songs from movies,” the paper writes. His favorite: "As Time Goes By," from "Casablanca."

Over the weekend, President Obama said Khaddafy has to go. "When a leader's only means of staying in power is to use mass violence against his own people, he has lost the legitimacy to rule," the White House said in a statement.” The New York Post notes, “The strong words from Obama, who had previously stayed mum on the Mideast madman's fate, came during a phone chat with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. ‘The president and the chancellor shared deep concerns about the Libyan government's continued violation of human rights and brutalization of its people,’ read the statement.”

So now rejecting federal funds are about the “risk” of “cost overrun”? “Our taxpayers aren’t going to take the risk of the cost overrun,” Florida Gov. Rick Scott told CNN. “I haven’t seen how we can do it,” he added.

Former President Bush “canceled a scheduled speech Saturday at a business leaders' conference in Denver after learning the WikiLeaks head was also invited to speak to attendees via satellite,” the New York Daily News reports. “‘Upon learning that Julian Assange had recently been invited to address the same summit, President Bush decided to cancel his appearance,’ Bush spokesman David Sherzer said in a statement. ‘The former President has no desire to share a forum with a man who has willfully and repeatedly done great harm to the interests of the United States,’ he added.”